Reservation Payments	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Reservation Payments	5. Reservation Payments Reservation payments consist of payments that allow potential customers to hold a reservation for the future purchase of a Model S, Model X or Tesla Roadster. These amounts are recorded as current liabilities until the vehicle is delivered. For Model S and Model X, we require an initial fully refundable reservation payment of at least $5,000. The reservation payment becomes a nonrefundable deposit once the customer has selected the vehicle specifications and enters into a purchase agreement. We require full payment of the purchase price of the vehicle only upon delivery of the vehicle to the customer. Amounts received by us as reservation payments are generally not restricted as to their use by us. Upon delivery of the vehicle, the related reservation payments are applied against the customer’s total purchase price for the vehicle and recognized in automotive sales as part of the respective vehicle sale. As of September 30, 2012, we held reservation payments for undelivered vehicles in an aggregate amount of $138.3 million. As of December 31, 2011, we held reservation payments for undelivered vehicles of $91.8 million. In order to convert the reservation payments into revenue, we will need to sell vehicles to these customers.

5. Reservation Payments

Reservation payments consist of payments that allow potential customers to hold a reservation for the future purchase of a Model S, Model X or Tesla Roadster. These amounts are recorded as current liabilities until the vehicle is delivered. For Model S and Model X, we require an initial fully refundable reservation payment of at least $5,000. The reservation payment becomes a nonrefundable deposit once the customer has selected the vehicle specifications and enters into a purchase agreement. We require full payment of the purchase price of the vehicle only upon delivery of the vehicle to the customer. Amounts received by us as reservation payments are generally not restricted as to their use by us. Upon delivery of the vehicle, the related reservation payments are applied against the customer’s total purchase price for the vehicle and recognized in automotive sales as part of the respective vehicle sale.

As of September 30, 2012, we held reservation payments for undelivered vehicles in an aggregate amount of $138.3 million. As of December 31, 2011, we held reservation payments for undelivered vehicles of $91.8 million. In order to convert the reservation payments into revenue, we will need to sell vehicles to these customers.